Guinea, formerly known as the French Guinea, achieved independence from France in 1958 and has a population of some ten million people. Guinea's first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, took the country out of the French Community, leading to France taking retaliatory action including the breaking all political and economic ties. Touré then declared Guinea a one party state and has effectively remained that way to the present day. Touré ran Guinea as a Marxist state and in the process destroyed its economy and much of its infrastructure.

It is estimated that 50,000 people were killed under a regime that came to an abrupt end in 1984 when Touré died suddenly during cardiac surgery. Within days the armed forces seized power denouncing the fading years of Touré's regime as a "bloody and ruthless dictatorship." Col. Lansana Conté was installed as president of the Military Committee for National Recovery. Conte was re-elected in 1993 as head of a civilian government and also in 1998 and 2003 mainly by suppressing his opponents. Conte's death on 23rd December 2008 was marked within six hours by a further coup d'état. The constitution was suspended and all institutions dissolved.

After Moussa Dadis Camara seized control of Guinea as the head of this junta, many within Guinea gathered to protest about his pending presidential candidacy and the army went on the rampage killing many of the population to suppress this dissent. During this rampage, Camara was shot and wounded by one of his aides and he was flown to Morocco for medical care. Later it was agreed that the military would not stand in elections called for 2010 and acting president Sékouba Konaté took control of the country as part of a transitional government. Scheduled elections continue to be postponed.

Today, after years of economic mismanagement and repressive rule, Guinea stands as one of the poorest countries in Africa. Adult illiteracy is high, school enrolment poor and maternal mortality is amongst the highest in the world. In rural areas 35% of households do not have access to safe water supplies and life expectancy is around 57 years. There are many charities you can contact to help Guinea children, click here to review them. Work undertaken includes supporting families, working with orphaned and homeless children, school projects and developing health care programs. They need your help to make a better future for the children of Guinea.